Leap of Faith
by Lucas27
Summary: This time, its just him. His clan is gone. Itachi is mass murderer, but not by choice. This time, Shisui is alone. But alone means there is no clan demanding his power to rebel and no Danzo demanding his loyalty. This time, Shisui Uchiha can control his own destiny.


**This story popped into my head and I wanted to write it down to see how it shaped out. I'm still updating my other story, I've just been super lazy.**

 **Disclaimer - I don't own Naruto**

The only thing that seemed to matter was the absence of pain. No burning in place of his eyes and no sharp rocks jutting into his body. Everything else seemed so far away.

He propped open an eye, it was dark. Beyond that any movement seemed either impossible or just too much effort. Besides, something was wrong. He didn't know what, but it just didn't feel right. He should just go back, its too ... difficult to think...

* * *

He can't move, and its not due to the chains on his body. He isn't sure how long it has been, but thoughts are becoming easier. He can remember Danzo, the loss of his eyes, which seem to have miraculously returned.

"Fwee" A muffled whistle makes its way to his cell, followed by shouting.

"He-" Is all he can get out, no matter how hard he tries. He shouldn't be surprised. Only after waking up this time had he been able to move his head the slightest bit to survey the area. Shouting, let alone talking would take time.

He waits, expecting, no hoping, to hear any more signs of life. Nothing. Silence once again fills the cell as he settles down. He's sure those were Danzo's men. Yet the presence of his eyes and his abandonment seem to suggest otherwise.

* * *

A loud bang echoes in the cell.

"Can you walk" Someone asks. Its a deep voice, most likely male. Shisui raises his head as best he can, but can't differentiate the man from the grey walls of his cell. Its all been blurring together as his body begins to shut down.

"Water" He croaks out. He thinks the man gives him some, the relief seems to indicate that but immediately after the dull pain returns and his thought jumble together.

"I can't believe the Anbu missed you." The man grumbles before breaking his chains and lifting him up.

This throws his head back into a flurry as pain and nausea wash over him.

"Now lets get you out of here."

* * *

Whatever happened between his retrieval and subsequent waking up seems to have done the trick, because his thoughts are clear and his body feels rejuvenated. But that's the problem, his body doesn't feel like his own.

There's a distinct lack of chakra. It's comforting flow is all but diminished. Not subdued or lacking due to exhaustion, but as if it was never there and this small trickle is all he has ever had.

Looking around the hotel room, something he can do once again with the miraculous return of his eyes, it seems to be a low end room. The green forest designs across the room suggest he's still in Fire Country, but nothing gives a away a specific location.

He shuffles to the edge of the bed, sets one foot on the ground, then another. He gradually shifts his weight from the bed to his legs and attempts to stand. His legs feel like jelly and nausea races through him, but its bearable. He takes a shaky step, followed by a loud thud as it hits the ground, and slowly makes his way across the room.

The swiftness his body used to have has seemed to disappear. Along with that, each step he takes thunders on the ground, something he learned to prevent before he became a genin.

As he makes his way to the sink and a mirror, another problem presents itself. Now Shisui wasn't the tallest person, taller than the Hokage but shorter than most. So then why was the sink a head taller than him?

This fits perfectly into the predicament he's in, not. He had been nearly murdered by Danzo, who wanted the Uchiha clan killed, and he'd ending up attempting to kill himself to prevent the capture of his eyes and help Itachi unlock his Mangekyo. Those were the facts. His body was supposed to have been erased from a technique he'd discovered while in the Anbu, but that obviously hadn't worked, he was here, or part of him was.

He clambered up onto the sink and observed his body, which was all wrong. He looked around 7, with long, straight hair that was caked with dirt, hiding its true color. His face had lost all the grace that came with being an Uchiha, instead replaced with the most basic civilian features. Large nose, small forehead, and eyes lacking the sharigan, he checked.

He looked to be from the Eastern parts of the Fire Country. A brief stint in the Uchiha Military Police before Anbu had him memorize facial structures to identify possible foreigners. But even with that he still was as average as average can be, absolutely no defining traits whatsoever.

The only benefit of the body, if you can call it one, was the lean muscle. It had no doubt been built from hard physical labor in rural Fire Country.

"So you're up." A voice called out from behind him. It took all his nerves and training not to jump, but slowly turn around at the man.

Jiraiya of the Sannin was an intimidating figure. With broad shoulders and standing at almost 2 meters tall, Jiraiya towered over his new body, but what set Shisui on edge was the look on his face. It was dead serious, the kind he recognized was only seen on the battlefield. His goofy atmosphere was gone, instead replaced by one who was prepared to kill at the moments notice.

"Don't worry I'm not here to hurt you. I just need to know any information regarding yourself. Name, hometown, anything you can possibly remember." He said while pulling out a notebook. Straight to the point huh. Saying he was Shisui Uchiha was probably out of the question, judging by his posture he wasn't going to take any nonsense.

"I don't know. I woke up in a cell and thats it." Shisui responded. At this point nothing was better than the tiniest bit of truth, he didn't want to self incriminate himself unknowingly. Jiraiya cursed at this.

"Figures," He mumbled. "Did you see anyone in the compound? Ninja, doctors, other prisoners?" Shisui gave no response.

"How about a man with pale, white skin, yellow eyes, and long black hair?" Shisui's eyes widened at this. Orochimaru. Before he could analyze it any further Jiraiya continued.

"I'll take that as a yes. For now all you need to know is that he's a bad man, someone you'll hopefully never see again. You were the only one found in the facility, hidden to the point even an Anbu team couldn't find you. Luckily I'm a sort of a specialist regarding those places" Jiraiya stated while closing the notebook. Something seemed to be on his mind because he spent no time waiting for any response. Hell, he didn't even ask for Shisui's name.

"You'll be taken to an orphanage in Konoha, where they'll be able to raise you until you figure out more about your past life, then you'll hopefully be returned home." Doubt that, anyone associated with Orochimaru and his experiments is sure to be kept in Konoha.

"Now normally I'd escort you, but a situation has arisen in Konoha that requires my attention." For once Shisui felt back in his old body, the feeling of uselessness and pain was all to familiar. The Uchiha couldn't possibly have already begun the coup de tate, and if that wasn't not the case than that means Itachi went through with Danzo's plan...

"I've arranged a caravan of traders to pick you in 3 days, stay in the hotel till then" But his words fell on deaf ears. Shisui fell to his knees. His clan, his family, all gone.

"Hey kid!" Shisui didn't bother looking up. "Once you meet the traders, give them this note and they'll take you to Konoha. Then when you reach the gates, talk to the guards on duty. Say I've sent you and hand them this scroll. They'll direct you from there." Jiraiya said while walking towards the window. But that didn't matter. Nothing could compare to the emptiness Shisui felt on the inside.

* * *

Shisui spent the remainder of the days in the hotel room either meditating or evaluating on his situation. The note and scroll laid open on the bed beside him, the note was a simple verification while the scroll had been protected by an ANBU chakra lock and coded in something he didn't recognize.

Other than that his situation had yet to change. Physically his body seemed to be completely normal, no stitches from surgeries or experiments and it lacked the bizarre enhancements Orochimaru occasionally whipped together for test subjects. Yet Orochimaru had experimented on something else because his chakra was completely in disarray.

On his first night of meditation, he identified his civilian chakra which flowed with little to no power, almost remaining stagnant in his body. It took some time and coxing, but eventually he got a slight movement which sent chills through his whole body.

It turns out his spiritual chakra had been destroying itself and regenerating in an attempt to prevent whatever Orochimaru had placed in him, some sort of mutation or infection in his spiritual chakra, from gaining a foothold. Whatever that was, his body did not want it inside him.

Shisui glanced up at the clock and quickly grabbed the note and scroll, the later which he tucked into a bag for later examination. He spared one glance at the window, debating his odds on being able to exit there, before sighing and walking the other direction. Doors were so overrated but it seemed he'd have to leave using his favorite exit for another day.

The caravan sat right outside the hotel in the town square and judging by the state of some of the carts they hadn't even bothered unpacking. Shisui raised an eyebrow at this, something had obviously happened which set this off.

He set off towards red wagon that his note had identified as Jiraiya's contact. Along the way he glanced around the group and immediately noticed the gloomy cloud which seemed to hang over everyone's head. All the kids stood close to their parents and no one was bothering with small talk. He managed to make eye contact with one of the kids who looked up hopefully at him but before he could do anything his parent shooed him away.

"I suppose you're the boy I'm suppose to be taking to Konoha." He glanced up and saw a middle aged trader. Judging by his clothing he seemed to be decently well off.

"My names Kento," He said while reaching out a hand. "Jiraiya never happened to give me yours." Shisui shook his hand before responding.

"Sui" Now he'd been debating using Shisui in the hotel but the amount of trouble already associated with the name would be more than its worth.

"Sui huh. Well Sui I welcome you to our humble group. Normally it'd be more lively but due to some, uh... circumstances everyone has been on edge lately. They're a tad bit jumpy and will immediately be suspicious of a newcomer, not that I'd blame em." He stated.

"We're about to set off so I'd recommend sitting up front with me, it'll cause the least trouble." He said while making his way to the front of his wagon. Shisui took the seat beside him but before he could attempt to start anything Kento started talking again.

"So how'd you end up with the likes of Jiraiya?" Shisui jumped at the question, and just stared at the man.

"Not the talking type, that's fine. How about we start with this. Where are you from?"

"Don't know" "Family?" "None" This seemed to stump Kento and he rubbed his head awkwardly.

"Well that's what'll happen when you get involved shinobi business, shame its already hit you at this age." Shisui figured if he knew he was talking to a (former?) ANBU agent and one of those said shinobi he'd act slightly different.

"How about this one, what do you like doing in your free time?" He spent a bit of time thinking about this one, but one thought just kept coming back.

"I had a little cousin," He said softly. For once, he actually felt like giving a real answer, even if it contradicted his last one. "He wasn't the best with others, but it was fun being with him. Joking around and things like that." He gave a slight laugh. "Its just I have no idea what happened to him, or anyone in the family to be honest."

Kento hesitated at this. "Well, sometimes you just have to have faith."

* * *

Luckily the rest of the trip hadn't been spoiled by Sui's confession. Kento seemed to be used to making conversation out of nothing, a skill he had no doubt picked up on these boring trips. Even when Sui wouldn't respond, Kento would weave a story out of nothing. These would range from things like this road is home to a horseman who has a pumpkin as a head to the village leader of a small farming community's second cousin's neighbor is in a secret relationship with at least 10 different shinobi.

Yes they were all false, but it passed the time at least.

By the time they reached Konoha, the small amount of energy that seemed to return on the trip vanished. Everyone seemed to pack in close to each other, as if someone would come and snatch one away at any moment.

The security at the gates was upgraded and a shinobi guard stood on each side of the caravan. The wagons were lined up and each one was being individually checked thoroughly. Along with that, the adults in the group were being interrogated, much to their dismay.

"What do you mean I have the wrong identification to bring my wife in, she's been with me on these trips for the past few years." A man in front yelled. The shinobi he was talking to was much calmer, but he was giving a few tells that identified him as angry.

"We don't want any unidentified persons entering the village, I'm sure you know why." The shinobi stated. This sparked a laugh from the man.

"Hah, now you're worried we'll do something too. Look around, we're all terrified. If a single one of your kind can destroy one of your so called 'strongest' clans in a single night, what does that mean for us normal people!? How are we supposed to protect our families?" The man was livid. Kento stepped in front of Sui before he could see anymore of the exchange.

"So, do you have any idea what you'll be doing here?" Kento asked, obviously trying to pull Sui's attention away from the argument, but nothing could stop his mind from racing with this confirmation.

Itachi had killed the clan, murdered everyone. From the friendly bakers to the war hardened veterans. Mikoto, Fugaku, had he even been manipulated enough to kill Sasuke? No, he wouldn't, he couldn't. But either way, everyone else was dead.

The scroll felt immensely heavy in his bag. He couldn't turn it in, if Danzo had been able to get away with the cold blooded murder of a clan, there's no telling what he'd do with an insignificant orphan. And that would be before he discovered his real identity.

The Hokage couldn't be trusted. Just saying that caused pain to shoot through Shisui. He dedicated his life to that man, he was supposed to follow him till death, but he couldn't. Even if he still believed in the Sandaime, Danzo had ingrained himself in to deep to the village's infrastructure. The man would never be able to keep a secret from Danzo and his Foundation, that alone was obvious.

"I was wondering if you would be able to uh, not mention my situation here?" Shisui said, trying to put on his best kid impersonation. "I just, don't feel comfortable with talking to them." Shisui said meekly, even though it hurt to do so.

Kento softened at this. "Ya, I understand how you feel. I won't mention a word." He said with a smile. Shisui grinned at this.

The wait felt longer than it actually was. As each cart moved forward, Shisui felt closer and closer to being discovered. What if one of the things they are searching the cart for is him? What if they discover the scroll in his belongings?

The possibilities were many, but each one ultimately lead to Danzo. From there it could be death, the foundation, scientific testing.

Slowly, their cart lurched forward, inch by inch till they were finally at the gates. To any normal child the gates were an impressive site, standing tall and vast, opening up to a whole new world. But Shisui didn't have time to site see, he was focused on each of the shinobi around him. Picking apart things like their body posture to the pitch of their voice, all to gain even the smallest bit of information.

Kento kept most of his answers short and simple. He was here to trade and brought along his cousin's kid due to his cousin asking. The chunnin spared one glance at Shisui before continuing his questioning. It seemed they had either not been told of Jiraiya's orphan or had more important things to worry about. Either way was fine by him, if he could benefit from Konoha's lapse of judgement, he would.

Once they passed, Kento turned to him and said "So, I'm guessing you need my help going to meet with officials here." There was no denying Kento was a nice man, always looking out to help others. But right now that wasn't what Shisui needed.

"No thanks. You've been a great help, you really have. But right now, I need to do some things on my own. Thank you once again." He said with a bow. Then, before Kento could even get the surprised look off his face, Shisui slipped into the all to familiar crowd of people.

Shisui wasted no time slipping through the crowds of people. Konoha was similar, but it was not the same. Everyone, from the children in the streets to the bakers in the stores to the shinobi on the roofs were on edge.

As he turned a corner, he saw a familiar site. A shinobi was talking to a rowdy bunch of workers, but when he tried to spot the Uchiha Military Police insignia, it wasn't there, another bitter reminder. He decided then he would stop trying to look for things that were familiar, stop regretting what could've been.

He rounded another corner to an alley and another. At each turn the streets became less and less crowded and the atmosphere of those remaining became darker and darker. Finally, he got to his destination.

In front of him was the Uchiha compound. It was unnaturally quiet and devoid of life. A crow stood atop a pole overlooking the complex. Maybe it was Itachi's, or maybe it was just chance.

He would've liked to have gotten closer, walked the streets, see what was left, but the gates were closed and chained off. He could climb the walls but he'd be caught. He couldn't mourn now, even though he needed it so bad. He'd just have to stick to imagining the empty streets. The bodies that were still there. The blood and the shocked looks etched on their face.

The kunai embedded in the walls, the sword slashes in the walls, signs of their death. The charred remains of those who were less lucky. He took a quick glance left and right.

He had no doubt already spent to much time in the empty street. The ANBU hidden around the area had to be aware of his staring. They were watching his every move. So he went somewhere where he knew there would be no one.

* * *

The waterfall created an oddly calming environment, even if it had been where he had attempted suicide. The constant rhythm of water to the beautiful site, it seemed to calm the turmoil within, bring everything within reason.

He got up from his sitting position and walked over to the edge. There was no blood, even though he had been bleeding profusely before the fall. The jutsu had to of worked. As much as he would like to head down the falls to check there, his body wouldn't be able to make the climb. Either way, his body had either disappeared or was in Orochimaru's hand. So then why was he here, why did he get this chance?

Shisui released a deep breathe. All this worrying, it wasn't like him.

He took out the scroll and looked at it. This was his chance, a risk, but still a chance to talk to the Hokage and gain an ally, explain everything that happened, bring justice to his clan. He clenched his hand around it, before dropping it down the waterfall.

This time he had no clan to rely on. No Itachi, no team members, just him. This time, he wouldn't let Danzo control him, manipulate those closest to him. For the first time in forever, he'd take his destiny into his own hands, pave his own path. There would be no clan demanding his power in an attempt to rebel and no leaders demanding him to betray them. This time, he would decide.

 **Ya this chapter took me like, a couple months to write cause I planned it out a long time ago, then I started it a month later, then wrestling happened and I did nothing for that 4 month season, and now its the end of spring break and I almost wasted the entire week, but I decided to write this on the second to last day, big dub. If you have any questions about anything in the story, ask in the reviews and I'll respond to them in the next chapter, whenever that its. Also, if you see any inaccuracies or problems, leave that in the reviews so I can fix them. Thanks for reading, see ya.**


End file.
